In today’s flourishing sex toy market, excitement and enjoyment aren’t difficult to find. When consumers are seeking unique sensations or a newfound kink, they can easily count on their favorite retailer or online store to provide a plethora of products and a few sex-ed lessons to boot from knowledgeable sales reps.
But for every youthful, enthusiastic shopper, how many more are suffering silently on the sidelines and in need of a solution that’s not as simple as buying a new bullet?
Medical reports show that three in four women will experience dysapreunia, more commonly known as painful sex, due to dozens of conditions such as endometriosis, vaginismus, post-partum issues and pelvic floor dysfunction. Vaginal dryness and atrophy are also common challenges, especially during menopause.
While our bustling intimate products industry is ready to tackle the millennial-focused orgasm gap, we’re often lacking in advice and solutions for middle-aged and senior women. This vital group of female consumers is just as capable and deserving of a vibrant, delightful sex life, whether solo or partnered.
As technological luck would have it, we’re entering a new era of solutions targeted at treating painful sex. CBD extract holds incredible potential to provide natural relief and increased pleasure for women facing age-related barriers to intimate wellness.
A little reproductive system sex-ed and a selection of CBD-based products can go a long way in returning a middle-aged or senior woman to a rightfully enjoyable sex life.
Understanding and Embracing the Aging, Female Consumer
The majority of women begin menopause around age 51. The body is no longer of optimal age to bear children, so around this time, a woman’s ovaries will shut down and her menstrual periods will cease.
We’ve all heard of menopause and generally associate it with women in their senior years. However, you might be surprised to find that many of your 40-something female customers — and even some women in their mid to late 30s — are already dealing with age-related sexual health issues.
Perimenopause arrives anywhere from a few months to four to seven years before a woman’s last menstrual cycle. Most women can expect to see signs of perimenopause sometime in their 40s, though it’s not entirely unusual to encounter hormonal and cyclical changes around the mid-30s.
During this time, women can experience menopause-like symptoms like hot flashes, sleep disturbances, irregular periods or depression and anxiety due to the fluctuation of estrogen. Perimenopause is the body’s way of signaling that full menopause and ovarian shutdown is on its way, albeit very gradually.
With this natural stage of life comes a decrease in estrogen, which often leads to sexual symptoms many women aren’t comfortable discussing, or even sure how to address, with a retail sales rep.
As experts in selling sex education and pleasure-focused experiences, it’s imperative that we also sell our customers on appreciating every stage of womanhood. From the time we’re born, women’s bodies move through an incredible array of changes: puberty and the growth of our curves, menstruation, the discovery of our sexuality and orgasmic potential, and the life-changing transformation of childbirth and motherhood.
As sex-positive pleasure professionals, it’s truly our duty to celebrate women as they age and infect their attitudes with a contagious joy toward middle-aged and senior sexuality.
Enhanced awareness of the unique health issues aging women face is essential. Once retailers understand the signs and symptoms of age-related painful sex, their intuition can guide even the shyest of consumers to a comfortable solution with CBD extract.
Menopause and Painful Sex
The North American Menopause Society claims that between 17 percent and 45 percent of postmenopausal women say they find sex painful. Is it any wonder that the pleasure products space desperately needs to rise to these women’s needs?
Decreasing estrogen leads to thinner vaginal walls and dryness, turning sex from a once-anticipated activity to a cause for fear and anxiety. During penetration, discomfort can range from feeling uncomfortably dry or tight to severe pain. Post-sex, burning or soreness in the vagina or vulva are just as common.
If left untreated, a combination of insufficient lubrication and inflammation can cause tearing and bleeding of the vaginal walls, leaving women vulnerable to infection.
What’s worse, the more painful, unbearable sex a woman has, the more her anxiety is likely to trigger vaginismus. This involuntary tightening of the vaginal muscles, caused by anticipation of pain, only continues the ugly cycle of nightmarish intercourse.
Intimate CBD Products for Decreasing Pain and Increasing Pleasure
CBD can be Goddess-sent for perimenopausal and menopausal customers — or anyone experiencing painful penetration and intimate health problems — who have yet to find light at the end of the tunnel.
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive, non-psychotropic compound extracted from the cannabis plant. It provides all of the pain and anxiety relief of other cannabis products without any negative side effects or the “high” feeling typically associated with medical marijuana.
For millions of women who suffer from sexual pain, genital inflammation or pre-sex anxiousness, CBD can provide welcomed relief in a natural, herbal remedy without a prescription.
When taken orally, CBD extract provides natural anti-anxiety properties. It can help calm the mind and get anxious consumers out of their heads, so to speak, and back into the moment. Many consumers who struggle with overall mental health problems, like depression, anxiety or ADHD, have felt more energetic, focused and positive after imbibing an appropriate, daily dose of CBD.
CBD is also an amazing, natural anti-inflammatory and can help reduce pain throughout the body. Studies have shown CBD to be anti-arthritic and capable of reducing inflammation in the joints and muscles.
For overall mental and full-body physical relief, CBD in the form of edible tinctures, pills or treats like gummies is your customers’ best bet.
For more specific pain in the genitals, especially during sexual activity, you can additionally recommend a CBD lubricant formulated for safe internal use. Customers can always combine an edible extract with a penetration-friendly lube to maximize pain relief and pleasure.
CBD lubricants bring all the benefits of cannabidiol right where aging women need it most: in their vulva tissue and inside the vagina.
When applied on the genitals as a sexual lubricant, CBD acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and can help reduce pain from inflammation, allowing for more comfortable and pleasurable touch and penetration. Additionally, as it soaks into the skin, CBD can relax the vaginal muscles and calm the nerves that perceive pain.
Though it hasn’t been fully proven whether CBD can increase blood flow, many users have reported feeling the related effects of better genital circulation: increased sensitivity to pleasurable touch, higher arousal levels, and production of their own natural lubrication.
Whenever possible, point your customers to a water-based CBD lubricant. Water-based CBD lubes are designed specifically for sexual play and intercourse. For starters, they’re completely safe to use with condoms and all sex toy materials. They offer quick absorption to the localized area through the vulvar and vaginal mucosa, maximizing CBD’s therapeutic effects. They’re also more likely to be pH-balanced so as not to interfere with the sensitive, acidic environment inside the vagina, which can potentially lead to yeast or bacterial infections.
However, be aware that CBD isn’t a cure-all. If your customers are experiencing deeper-rooted issues, like severe physical or emotional pain or suffering the effects of past trauma, consider referring them to a sexual therapist or qualified clinician. In fact, many AASECT-certified medical doctors and sex therapists are big believers in the amazing benefits of CBD!
CBD: Reinventing the Wheel for Sexual Pain Sufferers
As more aging women enter our retail shops and peruse our web stores, it’s our responsibility as intimate wellness experts to decipher their important sexual needs. While CBD extract might have begun as a 420-themed novelty, this proven medicinal remedy has quickly proven itself as a powerful tool for natural pain relief.
Your female customers age 40 years and older might not need another vibrator to solve their sensual woes. A CBD lubricant or edible might be just the ticket to helping aging women reclaim their right to incredible sex.
Understanding and Embracing the Aging, Female Consumer by Dr. Sadie Allison, Founder & CEO of GoLove CBD Lubricant, originally appeared in XBIZ
